(PC) Barnes v. Van Ness

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJuly 14, 2020
Docket1:20-cv-00625
StatusUnknown

This text of (PC) Barnes v. Van Ness ((PC) Barnes v. Van Ness) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
(PC) Barnes v. Van Ness, (E.D. Cal. 2020).

Opinion

6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8

9 ANTOINE DESHAWN BARNES, Case No. 1:20-cv-00625-NONE-EPG (PC) 10 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION 11 TO SUPPLEMENT COMPLAINT v. 12 (ECF No. 8) VAN NESS, et al., 13 ORDER FOR PLAINTIFF TO: Defendants. 14 (1) NOTIFY THE COURT THAT HE 15 WANTS TO PROCEED ONLY ON THE CLAIM FOUND COGNIZABLE 16 BY THIS ORDER; 17 (2) FILE A FIRST AMENDED 18 COMPLAINT; OR

19 (3) NOTIFY THE COURT THAT HE 20 WANTS TO STAND ON HIS COMPLAINT, SUBJECT TO THIS 21 COURT ISSUING FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO A 22 DISTRICT JUDGE CONSISTENT 23 WITH THIS ORDER

24 (ECF NO. 1) 25 THIRTY (30) DAY DEADLINE

26 27 I. BACKGROUND 28 Antoine Barnes (“Plaintiff”) is a prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with 1 this civil rights action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff filed the complaint 2 commencing this action on May 1, 2020. (ECF No. 1). The complaint is before this Court for 3 screening. 4 The Court has reviewed the complaint and finds that the following claim should 5 proceed passed screening: Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment sexual harassment claim against 6 Deputy Van Ness. The Court also finds that no other claims should proceed passed screening. 7 Plaintiff now has options as to how to move forward. Plaintiff may file an amended 8 complaint if he believes that additional facts would state additional claims. If Plaintiff files an 9 amended complaint, the Court will screen that amended complaint in due course. 10 Alternatively, Plaintiff may file a statement with the Court saying that he wants to go forward 11 only on the claim identified above. Finally, Plaintiff may file a statement with the Court saying 12 that he wants to stand on this complaint and have it reviewed by a district judge, in which case 13 the Court will issue findings and recommendations to a district judge consistent with this order. 14 II. SCREENING REQUIREMENT 15 The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 16 governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). 17 The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are 18 legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or 19 that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. 20 § 1915A(b)(1), (2). As Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis (ECF No. 7), the Court may 21 also screen the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. “Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any 22 portion thereof, that may have been paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court 23 determines that the action or appeal fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” 24 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). 25 A complaint is required to contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing 26 that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are 27 not required, but “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 28 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Bell 1 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). A plaintiff must set forth “sufficient 2 factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. 3 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). The mere possibility of misconduct falls short of meeting 4 this plausibility standard. Id. at 679. While a plaintiff’s allegations are taken as true, courts 5 “are not required to indulge unwarranted inferences.” Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 572 F.3d 6 677, 681 (9th Cir. 2009) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, a 7 plaintiff’s legal conclusions are not accepted as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. 8 Pleadings of pro se plaintiffs “must be held to less stringent standards than formal 9 pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (holding that 10 pro se complaints should continue to be liberally construed after Iqbal). 11 III. SUMMARY OF PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT 12 Plaintiff’s complaint alleges the following: 13 Plaintiff filed a sexual harassment complaint dated April 21, 2020, with Sergeant Long 14 against Deputy Van Ness. Plaintiff was sexually harassed again on April 25, 2020. 15 After Plaintiff filed his first sexual harassment complaint, Sheriff Administration 16 allowed Deputy Van Ness to retaliate on April 25, 2020, by invading Plaintiff’s privacy and 17 bullying Ms. Espinoza, who was doing welfare checks. Deputy Van Ness was supposed to 18 have been watching a plumber fix a cell toilet downstairs. In retaliation, Deputy Van Ness held 19 his keys and crept upstairs by “earhustling” through an earphone piece connected to his walkie 20 talkie on his body. Deputy Van Ness had a tech booth officer assist him in sexually harassing 21 Plaintiff by patching Plaintiff’s cell intercom speaker to Deputy Van Ness’s walkie talkie. The 22 tech booth officer told Deputy Van Ness to walk up on Plaintiff’s cell quietly while he was 23 masturbating in private. 24 After Deputy Van Ness sexually harassed Plaintiff twice on the P.M. shift in the B3 25 building, Deputy Van Ness abused his authority by having the A.M. shift racially target and 26 racially profile Plaintiff. Deputy Van Ness had Sheriff Shaffer, Deputy Gomez, Deputy 27 Robles, and Deputy Hicks “retaliate there [sic] sexual harassment plot, hate crime for all these 28 deputys [sic] work B3.” Plaintiff is being retaliated against due to a civil case he filed against 1 their fellow deputies. 2 Deputy Van Ness, in retaliation, is continuing to sexually harass Plaintiff by “abusive 3 authority, hate crimes, by telling these listed involved deputys [sic] to try to get female deputys 4 [sic] to file another 314 case” to try to stop Plaintiff from being released from Hanford Jail. 5 Plaintiff is being subjected to illegal entrapment, retaliation, reprisal, by Kings County 6 Jail Administration, which is allowing deputies to sexually harass and target Plaintiff’s penis. 7 Deputy Van Ness spread hate emails to other male homosexual deputies through a conspired 8 plot. If a female deputy hears Deputy Van Ness telling other male deputies with women 9 around those women will “feel fronted off.” Deputy Van Ness, through threats, abusive 10 authority, coercion, and bribery, is trying to get women to set Plaintiff up. 11 Plaintiff was sentenced and placed into California Department of Corrections and 12 Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) custody, but Hanford Superior Court deputies did not fax his 13 sentencing papers to CDCR. They did this as part of a hate crime conspiracy to set Plaintiff up. 14 Plaintiff’s life and release date are in grave danger because sheriffs in B3 building 15 continue to retaliate, racially target, and racially profile Plaintiff by having the tech booth 16 officer “earhustle” on turning up the volume to violate Plaintiff’s privacy.

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Bluebook (online)
(PC) Barnes v. Van Ness, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pc-barnes-v-van-ness-caed-2020.